Upward mobility

There’s no such thing as bad publicity, as was proved last week by the episode of the six-year-old boy in the runaway balloon – or not in the runaway balloon, as it transpired.

His parents (who once appeared in an American version of Wife Swap) are storm chasers – i.e. amateur scientists who fancy the idea of experiencing hurricanes and tornadoes at first hand. They thought up the stunt order to interest television companies in a reality series about their lives.

Bloody silly idea, if you ask me.  But there you go; it takes all sorts.  Especially in America.

They say the father might end up in jail, in which case Wife Swap could become a reality in no uncertain terms.  Who knows?  Point is, millions all over the world now know who Richard, Mayumi and little Falcon Henne are.  Publicity works.

That’s got me thinking.

The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, of which I am proud to be a member, wants to recruit into its professional bosom young plumbers who are keen to embrace the Institute’s principles of top notch qualifications combined with good plumbing practice.

What better way of catching their attention  and arousing their interest than by publicising the names of some of the global celebrities who began their lives as humble plumbers before moving on to fame and fortune.  And who better to set the ball rolling as the Institute’s ex-officio PR man than yours truly?

The famous actor Charles Dance, for example, was a plumber’s mate before taking to the stage.  He very wisely dropped his first name, Walter, because he felt the initials WC might count against him.

Michael Flatley, he of the flashing feet, was so successful as a plumber in his pre-hoofing days that he founded his own plumbing business, Dynasty Plumbing.

Not a lot of people know that the young Maurice Micklewhite, alias my old pal Mike Caine, worked as a plumber’s assistant in the daytime to keep body and soul alive while studying acting in the evenings.

And while on the subject of famous thespians, the great Lee Marvin put in many hours in New York with mole wrench and plunger before treading the boards.

Speaking of whom, would-be members of the Institute may care to remember that Lee spent much of his screen career fighting cowboys!

Tags: CIPHE, famous ex-plumbers, Gas Engineers, Plumbers, publicity